Wednesday, September 24, 2008

As a kid, a minister told me that only the King James was genuinely effective in sharing the Good News of Jesus. He even shared with us that no matter what passage you share with others, the only passages to actually effect salvation were these. And then, he handed out a card with a series of King James passages and he made it clear that no other passages and no other version would "work". Later a joke we shared with one another while in graduate school was, "If the King James was good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for me!" Naturally, the joke was that the King James was not even created until nearly 1600 years after Jesus.

This myth is a serious one of control. We just want to think that we own the only way to Jesus and that is our favorite version of the bible. The damage is twofold: FIRST-This myth can lead you into a position that you might shut the door of the Kingdom to those with whom God is working.

SECOND-This myth puts God in a box and will not allow Him to work in any other way than your particular version of the bible or the bible itself.

To debunk this myth I'd like to offer several examples. FIRST-The only bible or scriptures available at the time of Jesus' ministry was the Hebrew Torah, historical books, the wisdom literature and the prophets. So, how was Jesus revealed?

SECOND-Jesus was revealed through the teachings of the Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures. Remember, Jesus, after His resurrection, revealed Himself by sharing with the two disciples walking to Emmaus. He revealed Himself by explaining the portrait of the Messiah throughout the then known Scriptures.

In the 24th chapter of Luke, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Let's listen in: He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. I long to revisit the Old Testament Scriptures with this in mind that I might see Jesus more clearly-that my mind by be opened for a fuller understanding.

THIRD-Jesus is revealed by your life of following Him. Jesus says in Matthew 5 that people can see God and respond positively to Him through your good works. He says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Paul writes to the followers of Jesus in Corinth and challenges them with the same kind of thinking on how Jesus is seen: You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (II Corinthians 3)

FOURTH-Jesus is revealed by fulfilling the Law and traditions. Jesus makes it clear that He has not come to abolish the Law in any way, but to fulfill it. This literally means to make it full or to fill it up. I envision the Law of Moses as an empty container with a certain structure to it and Jesus fills it full. He is the fulfillment of it! I believe Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of every religious structure that is filled with the various laws, values and dreams. Jesus can fill up any empty container in the same way.

I heard this from a friend: All roads don't lead to Jesus, but Jesus leads to all roads. And, He fulfills every desire and longing within the hearts of every culture of the world. In Ecclesiastes 3 it says, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. God has already set the longing for eternity in the heart of man.

FIFTH-Jesus is revealed by the use of pagan and other religious writings as well as supernatural experiences. In Acts 17 Paul quotes a local poet who wrote for the religious ceremonies of worship for Zeus and Mollech, yet Paul uses it to reveal Jesus to the crowd in Athens. We are finding Jesus revealed in the ancient writings of the Muslim Koran, the Hindu Vedas, and within the early writings of Buddhism and the religious thinking of the Polynesian people regarding their Creator-God. People in some of the remote parts of the world are seeing Jesus in dreams and visions. Hey, I don't even pretend to understand it all, but I know people by the millions are coming into a personal relationship with Jesus and following Him.

SIXTH-Jesus is revealed by the spoken word of God. This is not the logos word of God, but the rhema word of God. In Romans 10:17 it says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the spoken (rhema) word of God. Think about it! When the massive movement of Jesus in China multiplied into the millions without bibles, how was Jesus revealed? He was revealed by the spoken word of God about the Good News of Jesus. Even in the early movement of Jesus, He is primarily revealed by word of mouth-by the personal testimonies of those who had already encountered Him.

SEVENTH-Jesus is revealed by the two natural lights-conscience on the inside and creation on the outside. We see this in Romans 1: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. NOTE people tend to suppress the truth and that truth is known to mankind first by what God made evident within them. This might be called conscience or God-consciousness; these are the moral motions that are already in every person's heart-knowing what is right and wrong. God revealed this to us in our hearts.

God also made it evident to them to know about Him and His plan for them in the creation: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

So, it's a myth that only the bible is the place that Jesus is revealed. The way I see it is that the Creator-God of the universe is relentless and will do whatever He can to reveal Jesus to everyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see. Are you listening and watching?

This myth flows out of the last one-GOD DWELLS IN HOLY BUILDINGS TODAY. The myth here lies in the terminology of "going to church". This was never the intent of the Jesus movement. If God truly is dwelling in a building where the organized Church gathers, then we must get over there right away.

The myth emerges out of a frequently quoted passage in Hebrews (10:25): and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. This has become the Christian mantra for making sure everyone goes to Church whenever the doors are open.

Years ago there was a man on my staff who wanted to have each of our fellowship fill out a card to register their attendance and then call those who didn't show up to sort of discipline them toward getting their act together to not miss church any more. There is definitely something to staying in communication with those in your fellowship in a personal sort of way, but not to badger them to get into line to go to church.

The damage of this myth is threefold: FIRST-The idea of going to church limits God and His presence to a location.

SECOND-The idea of going to church misses the concept and practice of the presence of the Kingdom.

THIRD-The idea of going to church leads to building monuments rather than joining a movement.

I want to debunk this myth in the following ways: FIRST-The myth distracts you away from the most miraculous thing that has ever happened to mankind-GOD DWELLS IN YOU. So, your walk with Jesus and with others is not that you are to "go to church", but to be the church of Jesus. The Kingdom-the presence of the King-is already among you all, therefore practice it-live it out in your life-live out the King's presence in your life together. You are the church of Jesus as you gather together anywhere in His name.

SECOND-Going to church as a location rather than a movement takes away the active, revolutionary nature of what Jesus intended for those who gather in His name. In Matthew 16 Jesus makes an incredible declaration. He says, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it or prevail against it." This sounds like the gates of Hades will not be able to bring it down. Now, if Jesus is talking about a church location or local organization, then He was mistaken. You see, many churches are brought down, defeated and closed down every week in the USA. The Message by Eugene Peterson nails the meaning of this passage and captures the essence of the original word "overcome" when it says, "This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out."

Do the see the difference? It is not that the gates of Hades will be powerful enough to overcome the church, but that the gates of Hades will not be able to withstand or keep it out or stop the powerful thrust and energy of the Jesus movement. The powerful thrust of the church of Jesus gathering together as a movement is due to spiritual transformation through the power of Jesus in each follower's life. This is why the church cannot be viewed as a distribution center for religious aspirin and other consumer goods. The church of Jesus cannot become a place where people only go to baptisms, marriages and funerals-only to be hatched, matched and dispatched.

We live in the age of the hungry spirit. We may not be a human being having a spiritual experience, but a spiritual being having a human experience. People are searching for authenticity. Jesus is the authentic way, truth and the life. Following Jesus is not a belief system; it's all about a Person and how to follow Him. What is needed is a spiritual revolution-a revolution that gets us back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus. The simple gathering of followers of Jesus on any day and at any location is a church. These gatherings revolve around four ingredients-fellowship, food, prayer and the apostles' teachings or the discussions around the teachings of Jesus and the Kingdom.

So if we who are followers of Jesus are the church of Jesus-the gathering of Jesus, and it isn't about "going to church" but "being the church", what does Jesus want us to do with the organized Church today? Reading through the 5 gospels (Matthew-Mark-Luke-John-Acts) it is clear what Jesus and the disciples did with the "organized Church". Let's view the synagogue as the organized Church. There are three observations that seem most relevant to us:

1. You don't find Jesus or the disciples bashing the Synagogue (Church). 2. You don't find Jesus or the disciples starting new Synagogues (Churches), because of inadequate teaching or worship. 3. You find Jesus and the disciples using the Synagogues (Churches) to worship together, to enjoy the reading of the word and then orbiting around them.

Several years ago I read a book, ORBITING THE GIANT HAIRBALL, A Corporate Fool's Guide To Surviving With Grace by Gordon MacKenzie. MacKenzie worked at Hallmark Greeting Cards for 30 years in the creative department. He found that he was unable to be very creative, if he had to spend his time in corporate meetings. So he learned to orbit around the corporate bureaucracy and not be entangled in it, freeing him to create. He also makes it clear that the hairball was absolutely necessary. Without it there was nothing to power the orbit and the hairball paid the bills.

This is exactly what the early fellowships of Jesus did. They participated in the Synagogue, yet they were in orbit around their Synagogue, their communities and around the marketplace. They went to Synagogue (Church) every Sabbath, yet they were there for a higher purpose-a Kingdom purpose. They were there to introduce more and more people to the preeminence of Jesus. When interest was expressed, they invited them to eat together and practice the presence of the Kingdom.

Many of the mega Churches today realize how important it is to move their members into a smaller gathering, so they put a lot of energy into small groups. Some of these small groups practice the preeminence of Jesus and the presence of the Kingdom and some don't. If the groups gather in the name of Jesus and become more like family, Jesus shows up and great things happen. Small groups that are study groups tend to learn about Jesus and not get to know Him and His Kingdom community sitting around the room.

Here's the bottom-line. Don't spend your time, treasure and energies building the church; that's Jesus job. He said He will build His church. Don't build the church or go to church, revolving your life around a monument. That monument may someday be empty as the cathedrals of Europe. BE THE CHURCH OF JESUS! Now that's a powerful movement that cannot be stopped and will always be filled with the love and power of Jesus and His Kingdom.